Well, by “drug busts,” I should say “tickets for smoking outside.” But it doesn't really carry the same ring, ya know?
Anyway it is true: Colorado pot smokers have been ticketed for toking outdoors at a rate four times higher than 2012. Many of the 100 or so offenders claim to not to know that their commune with nature is against the law. Others are too stoned to care.
It's kind of an amazing stat, though, for a state that lives in an absolute gray area—a gray area occupied by a state government that attempts to balance its marijuana progresses with more regressive federal laws, and by a law enforcement trying to figure out how it fits into the free-for-all. From the Daily Camera:
Garnett agreed with Beckner that it was probably a mix of people who didn't understand how Amendment 64 worked and those who felt law enforcement didn't care after the measure passed. The DA said he has reassured local law enforcement that he will prosecute their citations. “We've made it clear to police departments that we will prosecute consumption cases and distributing to minors, so they're looking for those because they know those are cases we will pursue,” Garnett said.
Meanwhile Colorado is one month away from becoming the first state in the country to allow the commercial selling of pot. 328 business licenses have already been approved, and there's talk of the state becoming the “Amsterdam of America.” Keep it indoors, Rocky Mountain high guys.
[H/T: The Wire]
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